Russia: Corruption tarnishes Russia’s new showpiece cosmodrome

Designed to showcase a revamped space industry and divert attention from recent failures, Russia’s multi-billion-dollar project to build its own space launch pad to take over from Soviet-era Baikonur has been mired in corruption scandals.

Hailed by President Vladimir Putin as the country’s biggest construction project, it has an estimated budget of 300 billion rubles ($5.8 billion, 5.3 billion euros).

The cosmodrome started going up in the remote far eastern Amur region in 2012.

Since then, 10,000 workers have toiled to build 115 kilometres (71 miles) of roads in this immense but scarcely populated region, as well as 125 kilometres of railways and a town with housing for 25,000 people.